Diamonds in the Rough
by Come-Along-Williams
Summary: Jafar had never thought himself to be a jealous man. He also never thought he could get emotionally attached to anyone. But when a certain street-rat shows up, Jafar's world turns upside down.


**Diamonds in the Rough**

Machinery whirred and sputtered, and the sound of thunder could be heard. A parrot was running his little heart out on a cog treadmill while his master slotted a mystic blue diamond into an ornate hourglass.

"Can't we just wait for a real storm?" Iago yelled over the noise. He hated attracting lightning this way.

The thunder was getting nearer and nearer and suddenly lightning struck the diamond. The hourglass sand swirled, revealing the only one deemed worthy of entering the Cave of Wonders.

"This is the clown we've been waiting for?" Iago screeched, still running a mile a minute, but by now wondering whether all this effort was worth it.

Jafar's features twisted into a smirk as he peered into the glass. "There he is, my diamond in the rough…"

"Are you kidding me?" Iago bellowed. "He looks exactly like every other loser in this crummy town!"

Jafar's eyes traced the features of the teen. Iago was right; he did seem like every other street-rat in the city of Agrabah. And yet, as the sand swirled round and round, Jafar felt himself drawn to him.

Jafar didn't know what it was, but there was something different about him, something different about this boy, something that the vizier hadn't seen in anyone yet. There was something enticing, something… alluring about him.

Jafar gave a chuckle, abandoning this thought. "Yes, my diamond in the rough…"

Iago had never been this raging mad at Jafar before. Sure, the male had done some pretty dumb and cruel things before, but this one had the parrot steaming.

Not being content with just knowing who the Chosen One was, Jafar now wanted to check up on him every couple of hours. This was Iago's third run of the day. He didn't even want to think about how many miles he had run the previous days.

"Faster, Iago, faster!"

Muttering curses under his breath, the bird picked up speed. Finally, lightning struck, and the lad appeared in the hour glass again, and Jafar's cackle filled the dungeon. "Excellent Iago!"

Jafar's eyes suddenly narrowed with resentment – the boy, who was usually alone except for his pet monkey, was with a girl. She was just a street-mouse by the looks of her. Nothing special.

Jafar watched as she reached out for his hand and he pulled her up. The pair giggled as she tripped, falling into his arms, her dark hair falling into her brown eyes.

He gave a smirk – he'd have fun taking away her beloved.

"Had enough yet, Your Rottenness?" Iago called out. With a yelp, the poor bird suddenly lost his footing and flew crashing into the stone wall.

"Now, let's bring this street-rat in, shall we?" Jafar replied. With that, he swept out of the dungeon, not even checking whether the parrot was ok.

Now that he had a new toy to direct all his attention to, he'd didn't care much about his parrot. Iago had never wanted to murder the vizier as he did now.

**********************

Midnight in Agrabah was considered the darkest hour. Especially out in the desert. The inky-black sky was littered with stars that were oblivious to the howling wind, or the sandstorm going on below.

"Help me up!" the young boy cried out, desperately holding onto the ledge to keep himself from falling into the cave.

"Give me the lamp!" Jafar screeched.

The boy clumsily reached for the lamp, handing it over to the beggar. "Now please, help me up!"

The older male reached out and brought the youth up by his wrist.

"Jafar!" Iago hissed, poking out from Jafar's costume. "Hurry up and help your boyfriend up so we can get outta here!"

"Boyfriend?" Jafar's eyes widened, and suddenly he released his grip on the boy, letting him fall into oblivion.

"Are you insane?" he screeched. Wrenching the parrot from his back, he threw him on the ground, despite Iago's protests that he hadn't at all meant it. "You ever say something like that again, and I'll make sure you never see the light of day either!"

*****************************

Jafar couldn't believe it. The street-rat, Aladdin, was haunting him.

The vizier just couldn't forget the pleading hopeful look in his eyes which changed to sheer terror as the sorcerer let him fall to his death. Those beautiful mahogany eyes simply refused to erase themselves from the older male's mind.

The fearful trust in his voice as he pleaded to be helped up swirled around in Jafar's mind.

"Please, help me!"

Even sleep brought no relief. As Jafar's lips touched Princess Jasmine's, she morphed into Aladdin, his monkey Abu, sitting on his shoulder. "You can't kill me that easily Jafar…" he murmured silkily.

"Unbelievable!" Jafar roared, as he swept in, slamming the dungeon door with such force that Iago's cage rattled.

Iago circled the male warily. "Now what?"

"Did you not see him?"

"Who? Prince Ali?" Iago asked, contemplating whether it was safe to try and perch on Jafar's shoulder. "Course I saw him, how could I have not? So now you have a competitor for the princess' hand. So what?"

"He looks exactly like that damn street-rat!" Jafar bellowed.

Iago allowed himself a smirk. "It's karma, Jafar. Getting back at you for killing him."

Jafar shot the parrot a glare that would've killed an elephant. "Screw you."

Iago finally decided to sit on his friend's shoulder. "Look, I don't see what you're so worked up about. It can't be that loser. You trapped him in the Cave of Wonders, remember? Besides," the parrot flew over to the other shoulder, "do you know just how many people might look like him?" He smirked. "Just chill out and figure out how to get the princess."

Jafar sighed. It wasn't the princess that he wanted.

**************************************

Jafar stood on the balcony, watching the young prince down in the courtyard. Something inside him wanted to go down there, and strike up a conversation that would ultimately lead to an argument, just so he could be there with Ali.

The male shook his head. Ali was his enemy. The only interaction they were supposed to have was when Jafar would send the prince back to where he belonged. But there was something about him. The same something which had drawn the vizier to the street-rat. There was something enticing about this boy.

Jafar watched as Princess Jasmine pranced over to the youth, and to his surprise felt a sudden hatred for her. A wave of envy swept over him as Ali twirled her around and held her close, whispering something into her ear.

His eyes narrowed as they fell back onto Ali's magic carpet, laughing, and when Jasmine leant over and kissed his cheek, Jafar's eyes burned with loathing. Pure unadulterated hatred towards the female raged inside him. He wanted nothing more than to march up to her and make her disappear forever.

His thoughts suddenly caught up with him and he stopped. This didn't make any sense. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. He wasn't supposed to be feeling anything towards the boy. If anything, he was supposed to feel hatred towards him, not the princess.

He watched the pair get on the carpet, following their moves as they set off. Aladdin steered the rug towards the balcony where Jafar was standing, and seeing that the vizier was watching, gave him a wave, smiling. Whether the wave and smile were ones of mockery, or if they were genuine, the vizier had no idea. But despite himself, a smile crept onto his lips, and he raised his hand to wave back.

But it was too late. The prince was gone.

He didn't want to do this. This was the last thing he wanted to do. But he didn't have much of a choice. Prince Ali, or as Jafar had found out, Aladdin, was causing him way too many problems.

He didn't know what to think. After all, Jafar wasn't a jealous man. Nor was he one to get attached to anything or anyone. He'd never felt this yearning before, a yearning to always be near the boy, never had the desire to know what he was doing every minute. Never had he had the urge to hurt Jasmine just because she was the one that Aladdin directed all his attention to. His eyes burned at every slight touch she bestowed upon him, every kiss she gave him.

Lately, she'd noticed that Jafar was watching them, and had begun to do it more and more, as if to say "Look, Ali's won. Now he's going to be the sultan, not you."

Poor deluded girl. She actually thought that he was after her, that he'd be upset that he couldn't have her. She thought he hated Ali for taking her away. Quite the opposite – he hated Jasmine for taking Ali away.

This was all too much for him. Aladdin had to go.

"Razoul," Jafar snapped at the Captain of Palace Guards that night, "Capture Ali and make sure he's never found again."

His voice was calculated, his eyes cold, but despite his calm and confident demeanour, inside his heart was breaking.

"Look, I just can't free you, ok?" Aladdin yelled, throwing the lamp down onto the mat and pelting a pillow at it. Yes, he was grateful to Genie for saving him from a watery grave, but he had more pressing matters on his mind right now.

Looking up, he saw elephant Abu and Carpet watching his argument through the palace window. Aladdin still couldn't get used to the fact that his pet had been turned from a monkey to an elephant. "What are you two staring at?" Aladdin snapped at the two.

Upset, the ex-primate turned away, hurt burning in his eyes as he lumbered away, Carpet sullenly following him.

"Wait, no, Abu! I didn't mean it!" Aladdin called out, but it was too late. The window was now vacant.

A shadow in the corner stirred, watching the ex-street-rat. Something similar to a smile passed over the features of the onlooker. Similar, but not a true smile – it was too sad to be a proper smile.

"Don't leave…" Aladdin murmured, staring at the spot where his two friends had just been.

He gave a long sigh. When did things become so complicated? It was supposed to be simple – he became a prince, Jasmine fell in love with him, he freed the genie, and everyone would live happily ever after. All this hurt and betrayal never fitted into his neat little plan.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the mystery individual coming up to him. Not that he probably would've heard him anyway – his steps were quiet, his soft shoes making barely any noise on the smooth floor.

"Oh my, Aladdin," a sultry voice whispered into his ear, and Aladdin felt hands gripping his shoulders. "What a tangled web of lies you've woven."

He'd recognize that voice anywhere. Whirling around, his suspicions were confirmed. A fleeting look of fear passed through his eyes before a look of seething anger settled into his coffee-coloured eyes. "Jafar! Get the hell away from me!"

Jafar's slender hand flew to the boy's mouth, muffling his protests. "No need to yell, dear boy."

Aladdin brought his hands up to Jafar's, attempting to remove the hand from his mouth. Jafar pressed his hand further against the boy's mouth, and the two toppled over, Jafar lying on top of him.

The pair stayed like that for a moment, Aladdin staring into the vizier's dark eyes, then turned his head, refusing to look at the older male anymore.

Sensing that Aladdin probably wouldn't yell again, he removed his hand. "I just came to give you some advice…"

Propping himself up by his elbows, the young male gave the vizier a dirty look."Why should I listen to anything you've got to say? You ordered to have me killed!"

Jafar bit his lip. He looked at Aladdin, and then looked away. "Because… Because I know what it's like…" he sighed.

"What, to have almost been killed?" Aladdin retorted.

Jafar shot Aladdin a dirty look, sitting up. "No," he said. "I know what it's like for you. The secrets, the lies."

Aladdin gave a snort, "Yeah right." Then to his utter mortification, angry tears came spilling from his eyes. "You know nothing.

Jafar reached out to wipe the boy's tears away, his slender fingers caressing Aladdin's wet cheek. Aladdin's eyes widened slightly, and he knew he should just pull away and storm off, but something held him there.

This wasn't the same Jafar. There was something in his eyes that Aladdin hadn't ever seen in the royal vizier – hurt and vulnerability.

"Aladdin, I know exactly what it's like," Jafar began softly. "I know what it's like to have to live in lies and deceit all the time. Always wondering if someone's going to catch you out. Always afraid that the past is going to catch up with you."

He dropped his hand, and looked away for a moment. "I know what it's like to feel unloved by everyone except your pet, who also happens to be the only friend you have. I know what it's like to feel worthless; to have people put you down, all the while knowing that you're destined for something better. But most of all, I know what it's like to not ever know your family."

"You're…an orphan?" Aladdin whispered.

The older male gave a long sad sigh, nodding. "I know what it's like to never be hugged by your mother, never hear praises from your father. To never get to hear grand tales from your grandparents, or run around playing with your siblings. I never got any of that."

Aladdin's heart gave a pang of compassion and sympathy towards the older male. Jafar had changed right before his eyes. No longer was he the arrogant traitorous man Aladdin knew – all Aladdin could see was the pain and hardship Jafar must have gone through his whole life.

"I'm… I'm sorry… I never knew…" he whispered.

Then, to both males' astonishment, a tear slid down Jafar's cheek. Before he even knew what he was doing, Aladdin's hand was wiping the tear away.

Silence enveloped the pair as his hand stayed there, several seconds longer than necessary. Aladdin looked down at his hand, and then dropped it, suddenly noticing just how close the two were to each other. When had all the space between them been closed?

"All my life I've struggled to get where I am today," Jafar said, breaking the silence. "I went from being the kid who had absolutely nothing, to the man that has everything." He paused, and smiled wryly. "Kinda like you, really…"

Aladdin opened his mouth to protest and then shut it again, realizing that Jafar's words actually held some truth.

"Now I have everything I want." Pause. "Well, almost everything. There's one thing I want that I can't have. One person actually…"

"Jasmine?"

Jafar shook his head, smiling sadly as he brought his slender hand up to the boy's cheek, caressing it. "You…"

And before Aladdin knew it, Jafar's lips were against his own. His brain screamed for him to pull away, to just get away from there, but he couldn't.

This felt so natural. More so than kissing Jasmine. That had felt normal, but right here, kissing Jafar, it just seemed right. Aladdin wouldn't give this moment up for anything.

A newcomer walked up and stood silently in the doorway, staring in bewilderment at the two males, confusion in her brown eyes.

"Aladdin?" she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. But he didn't reply. He hadn't even heard her.

Jasmine turned, running as fast as she could away from the pair. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

She didn't stop running, didn't stop to think about the situation. She didn't even realize what she'd seen was the true Jafar and true Aladdin. No lies, no false pretences.

Just two diamonds, which had shed their rough skins. Two diamonds in the rough.


End file.
